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CHAPTER 2 <br />HEALING DIVISIONS ON THE <br />GOVERNING BODY: <br />CAN'T WE ALL JUST GET ALONG <br />By: Tami A. Tanoue, CIRSA Executive Director <br />At CIRSA, we're seeing more and more instances of governing bodies with intractable <br />divisions that cut across virtually all of the body's decision -making. This division is <br />affecting productivity, driving away opportunity, and undermining citizen confidence. <br />It also lends itself to disputes and claims, with corresponding risks of liability. In this <br />chapter, well explore the causes and impacts of such divisions, and explore some possible <br />ways to break out of the patterns that cause them. <br />Introduction <br />First, though, let's be clear about the situation we're discussing: Every governing body <br />has disagreements, and there's nothing wrong with that. It would be strange, indeed, if all <br />members agreed on all issues all the time. If that were the case, why would we even need <br />five, seven, or nine members? <br />Sometimes, disagreements create a residue of misunderstanding or hurt feelings, but that's <br />to be expected, too. Most governing body members are able to leave that residue behind <br />and move on to the next matter at hand. <br />We're also not talking about the "outlier" issue, where one or some members of the <br />governing body have made it their mission to separate themselves from the rest of the <br />group, with the sole goal of embarrassing the rest and proving that they are the only <br />"ethical, "transparent," or "responsive" (or insert description of your choice) member of the <br />body, at least in their opinion. There are ways to address the "outlier" issue (see Chapter 3). <br />What we're talking about here is a governing body in a state that we can all agree is <br />severely dysfunctional. We're talking about a body that's intractably divided, and whose <br />every debate, discussion, and decision are characterized by lingering unresolved matters, <br />mutual contempt, and hard feelings that calcify into hardline positions. We're talking <br />about meetings that staff and citizens refer to as the "Thursday night fights" (or insert <br />evening of your choice). We're talking about meetings where members regularly yell or <br />snipe at each other, name -call, storm out, or maybe even resort to threats or fisticuffs. <br />11 <br />